The Lab's conservation science program is working with Mexican ornithologists to identify birds needing the most urgent protection in Mexico. The work is being conducted as part of the North American Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI).

NABCI is an agreement among more than 100 organizations and agencies from Canada, Mexico, and the United States to work toward conservation of all native North American birds. These three countries share more than 1,200 species of birds, including hundreds that cross political borders during annual migrations.

Various organizations have identified endangered, threatened, or vulnerable birds as comprising some 7 percent of the avifauna in Canada, 37 percent in the United States, and 17 percent in Mexico. Many other species still considered to be common are undergoing widespread and alarming population declines.

NABCI addresses one of the most critical needs for bird conservation in North America: fostering the development of a coordinated conservation strategy for birds within and among nations, conservation programs, and the public and private sectors. Since its inception in 1988, it has been supported and facilitated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, created by the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Although NABCI focuses on bird conservation, its partners hope that it will become a key platform supporting the three North American countries in their efforts toward integrated, long-term biodiversity conservation efforts in general.

To find out more about NABCI, click here.